Tag Archive for ciclovía

What good is a bike room if it’s not clean, not maintained and not secure?

Sean B forwards these photos of the bike locker at the Pasadena Del Mar Metro Station, noting that the floor is filthy, half the racks are broken and one appears to have been sawed through to steal the bike that was presumably in it.

I’m told this isn’t actually part of Metro’s bike locker program, but rather, just a set of racks with walls and a roof, where a sign tells riders to lock up there at your own risk.

Seriously?

If Metro really wants to encourage people to use their own bikes to solve the first mile/last mile problem, they’ve got to do a lot better than this.

Deplorable conditions like this only serve to encourage bike thieves, making it clear that no one is paying attention and they aren’t likely to be interrupted.

Sean also notes that he’s tried contacting Metro about these conditions on numerous occasions, with no luck.

Let’s hope someone there sees this and makes fixing this room a priority. Or better yet, does whatever it takes to replace it with a secure bike locker.

Because bike riders deserve a hell of a lot better than this.

………

Clearly, distracted drivers aren’t the only ones we have to worry about.

Caught on video: A Portland thief shows how easy it is to snatch a bike off the front of a bus. Always lock or disable your bike in some way before you put it on a bus rack to discourage potential thieves.

A bighearted Washington cop buys a stolen tandem from a homeless man, and fixes it up before returning it to its owners, who met while riding bikes 66 years earlier.

A Denver driver gets six years in a halfway house for seriously injuring a bike cop after lying about having a seizure-inducing medical condition. Although you have to wonder how long that sentence would be if his victim hadn’t been a cop.

Austin TX considers removing a bike lane to provide more parking, while local residents fight to keep it. Meanwhile, police in Austin bust a bike thief responsible for stealing 97 bikes, valued up to $12,000.

After an Ohio cyclist is rear-ended, he gets yelled at by the driver and lectured by a cop for riding in the traffic lane. Until he points out the sharrows he was riding on.

A Maine writer offers seven ways to improve bicycling in the state, most of which would make sense anywhere. Let’s face it, there are very few politicians I’d want to see naked, on a bike or otherwise. Even if the idea of voting for someone who has nothing to hide is appealing.

Turns out it’s legal for a woman to ride a bike topless in Philadelphia, even if it is a challenge to get the local police on board.

A Toronto woman has started a petition to require cyclists to be licensed, even though the city has rejected that four times in the last 30 years. Although riders may not have to worry too much; the petition had just 15 supporters so far.

Brit pro cyclist Bradley Wiggins was bullied growing up and called a gay slur for having the audacity to wear spandex in public.

London police are treating an apparent road rage hit-and-run as attempted murder; the same driver who ran down a cyclist may have tried to crash into a cop who responded to the incident.

A Glasgow taxi driver suffered a broken nose and cheekbone when he was punched by a bike rider, after the rider had fought with the cab’s passenger. Violence is never the answer, no matter how angry you are or how much you think they deserve it. It only makes a bad situation worse.

A trio of British cyclists riding a single bike made for three survive a collision on US Route 66 when the sun gets in a driver’s eye; needless to say, he wasn’t charged.

In another must read, a writer clearly explains why the current rules of the road don’t keep people from dying. In fact, they’re often a contributory factor — including the 85% rule used to set deadly speed limits throughout the US.

And it includes this statement from the executive director of New York’s Transportation Alternatives, which should become the new mantra for every traffic planner and government official.

“It’s completely unacceptable for someone to die in a plane crash or an elevator,” he said. “We should expect the same of cars.”

Milestone Rides offers six road safety tips for dealing with angry drivers, noting it’s not if you’ll be harassed but when.

Things are getting serious in the campaign for the March LA city council election. This weekend you’re invited to help canvass for Jose Huizar, one of the most effective voices for bike riders on the city council, on both Saturday and Sunday. Huizar is in what promises to be a tough re-election battle against termed-out county commissioner Gloria Molina.

Somehow I missed this one earlier this month, as Boyonabike discusses bike advocacy and the importance of getting involved to change our streets.

State

Calbike looks at the state’s bike bests of 2014, including the hiring of Seleta Reynolds to head LADOT and Tamika Butler as Executive Director of the LACBC.

A San Francisco jury awards $4 million in damages after concluding the truck driver who killed a San Francisco bike rider was negligent in causing her death. Police had brushed the case under the rug, blaming the victim until a member of the local bike coalition found security camera footage that captured the impact — which the SFPD hadn’t bothered to look for. Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

Cheyenne, Wyoming considers bailing on plans for bike lanes on a pair of busy streets, since people only ride bikes for recreation and no one would ever actually use one to get anywhere.

Now that’s more like it. Nebraska considers a far tougher version of the three-foot passing law, requiring drivers to change lanes to pass a bike rider, or give three feet if that’s not possible.

Evidently, they take traffic crime seriously in the Midwest. A Nebraska driver who fled the scene, leaving left a cyclist paralyzed from the neck, down gets six to ten years in jail, while a hit-and-run driver who killed a Kansas cyclist is sentenced to 11 years on a second degree murder charge.

A road raging Singapore cyclist is lucky to get off with a light charge after throwing his bike at a car; of course, no reason is given for why he might have been so angry with the driver.

Finally…

If the police catch you in the act of cutting the cable on a key-operated bike lock, don’t tell them you forget the combination. An Aussie family of four and their two dogs travel 3,700 miles by bike along the country’s coast, subsisting on what they could forage along the way — including road kill.

And caught on video: a Brit cyclist is knocked off his bike by a van, then attacked by the driver; police are looking for the victim to investigate the case. Be patient, it get’s interesting about 50 seconds in. And thanks again to John McBrearty.

The website cites opportunities like the Spring Street Bike Lane, CicLAvia, bike trains and the needlessly controversial MyFigueroa project, as well as the need for more bike lanes and bike racks at buildings in Bunker Hill and the Financial District.

It’s a good piece, and one I hope city officials pay attention to.

Just a couple of minor quibbles.

While wearing a bike helmet may be smart, it’s not required for anyone over 18.

And when riders get furious at drivers who honk at drivers for going too slowly in traffic, it’s not the bike rider who’s the problem.

Drivers have to accept that bicyclists have a right to the roadway, just as they do. And that shared lanes — which is every right hand lane not next to a bike lane — means they have to be patient and pass when it’s safe to do so.

Not lay on their damn horns until riders get the hell out of their way.